LOS ANGELES — “Oh, my God!”
It’s a drawn-out sentence that seems to run the length of the ramp Kimora Lee Simmons Leissner rolled down as she emerged from the makeshift hair-and-makeup room to head down to the skate rink at World On Wheels in Los Angeles. Her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee, are already there, the three ready for a Baby Phat photo shoot as the brand readies for a major reboot, beginning with Thursday’s launch of a Forever 21 summer capsule.
“World On Wheels has an old school, nostalgic feeling. It’s current and fun and trendy and that’s what this is: Baby Phat 2.0, Baby Phat reloaded,” Simmons Leissner said. “It’s myself and Ming [Lee Simmons] and Aoki [Lee Simmons]. They’re not babies anymore or behind the scenes. They’re front-and-center and they’re helping with designs as well as the business.”
Simmons Leissner — designer, model and entrepreneur — bought back the Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons brand, recognizable for its cat silhouette logo, in March for an undisclosed sum. The move represented a return to the label she started in 1999 under then-husband Russell Simmons’ Phat Fashions, helping carve and solidify a powerful point of view and space for